Plagued by decades of industrial flight and population decline, New York cities along the so-called “Thruway Corridor” – Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica – have faced serious fiscal and economic challenges during the Great Recession.
Addressing these challenges was the topic of a recent conference presented at Cornell. Co-sponsored by the Community and Regional Development Institute (CaRDI) and the Departments of Development Sociology and of City and Regional Planning (CRP), the March 25 event brought together city representatives and Cornell researchers to discuss the problems these cities face and the creative solutions being developed to tackle them.
“Bringing academics, policymakers and practitioners together for a dialogue based on research, data and experience will lead to more informed decisions around the challenges our communities face,” said Rod Howe, CaRDI’s executive director and Cornell Cooperative Extension assistant director.
Among the revitalization efforts discussed were civic renovation projects to encourage cultural and recreational activities, new business incubators to drive job creation, and new sustainability and conservation efforts aimed at making cities greener and more attractive places to live. One such initiative, a sustainable urban renewal project called Rust2Green being led by the Department of Landscape Architecture, was touted as an important part of the rehabilitation efforts currently underway in Utica.
You can read more about the conference here.
